Reinforced concrete construction.



W. B. HOUGH.

REINFORCED CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED APR-24 I916.

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REINFORCED CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 24. 1916.

l 5275, 130. Patented Aug. 13, 1918.

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WWW ME/6 UNITED STATES PATENT orrrcE. 1

WILLIAM B. .HOUG'H, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO PATENTED DEVICES COM- PANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

REINFORCED CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 13, 1918.

Continuation of application Serial No. 658,683, filed November 6, 1911. This application filed April 24, 1916.

' Serial No. 93,116.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. HoUGH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Reinforced Concrete Construction, of which the following is a specification.

Concrete structures are reinforced by embedding steel bars in the concrete. The present invention relates to devices for supporting the bars at the proper distance from the formwork, and for holding the bars at the desired distance from one another. Such a spacing and securing device usually comprises a member extending transversely of the series of bars, said member being provided with legs or gages to stand upon the formwork, and with devices to embrace the bars and secure them to the transverselyextending member.

This invention relates particularly to de vices of the class mentioned in which the leg or gage consists of two parts located below the reinforcing bar. Such a leg or gage is subject to failure through the separation of said two parts due to the bar being forced down between said parts. I

One of the objects of this invention is to provide means to restrain the parts of the gage from separation.

The invention also relates to the various other features of improvement hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing two reinforcing bars operatively associated with a spacing and securing device embodying the features of my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view through the spacing and securing device shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section taken in the plane of dotted line 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional detail view of the longitudinal member and one of the legs or gages. Fig. 5 is a detail view of one of the gage-restralning and barsecuring devices. Fig. 6 is a view similar to that of Fig. 3, but showing an alternative construction. Figs. 7 and 8 are detail views further illustrating the construction shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 9 is a vertical longitudinal section and Fig. 10 is a top plan view of another alternative construction. Fi 11 is a fragmental view showing another orm of spacing and securing device in side elevation. Fig. 12 is a sectional view taken in the plane ofdottedline 12 of Fig. 11. Figs. 13 and 14 are views similar to that of Fig. 11, but showing other forms of the spacing and securing device. Fig. 15 is a top plan view of the form shown in Fig. 14.

A denotes the formwork upon which a concrete floor is to be constructed, and B are the reinforcing bars. These bars are herein shown as round, but they may be of any desired form. They are spaced apart from one another at a suitable distance, are supported so that they shall be embedded in the desired plane in the floor, and are secured against displacement by means comprising a suitable number of devices, each of which comprises a longitudinal member herein shown as folded to provide legs or gages. The longitudinal member may be of any suitable construction and material, but should be inextensible so that the distance between adjacent bars shall not be varied by change in the length of the longitudinal member. In Figs. 1 to 10,- inclusive, I have shown a longitudinal member 1 consisting of a strip of band iron. The longitudinal member 1 illustrated in Figs. 11 to 15, inclusive, consists of a plurality of wires twisted together.

The means herein shown for supporting the reinforcing bars at the desired distance from the formwork consists of legs or gages formed by folding the longitudinal memher, a leg or gage being located directly below each bar, and the middle portion of the fold resting upon the formwork. In Figs. 1 to 4, the gages are indicated at '2, the two parts of which each gage is formedbeing designated as 2".

To restrain the gage from unfolding and; to secure the reinforcing bar in place, I provide a sheet metal member 3, (Fig. 5) having tWo arms 4 extending through open ings 5 in the longitudinal member 1, the gage being vertically slotted as at 6 to receive the Web 70f the member 3. If desired, the member 3 may comprise curved portions 8 to lie Within the bends formed at the junction of the longitudinal member and the gage, as shown. The member 3 may be held in place in the openings 5 and slot 6 in. any suitable manner. Herein I have shown the arms 4 as bent to-lie in planes at right angles to the plane of the remainder of the I bars after the bars have been laid in place upon the formwork preparatory to depositing the concrete upon the formw'ork.

case the workmen should impose excessive loads upon the gages 2 as, for example, by walking upon the bars B, the members 3 serve effectively to prevent the gages from unfolding and thus allowing the bars B to descend toward the formwork. The arms 4 engage the material of which the longitu-.

dinal member 1 and the gage 2 are formed at opposite sides of the gage, and said arms being rigidly connected through the body of the member 3, said member ties together the two sides or parts of the fold constituting the gage. and thus restrains the gage from opening out or unfolding.

In Figs. 6, 7 and 8 is shown an alternative construction wherein the gagerestraining and bar-engaging means consists of a sheetmetal member 3 The longitudinal member 1 and the gage 2 have verticalslots 9 at the junction of the gage and the longitudinal member, said slots extending partway down in the gage. These slots receive the body of the member 3. In the lower edge of the member 8 is a notch 10 to receive a portion of the gage 2 below the slots 9. The member 3 may be secured in place in the slots 9 in any preferred manner, as, for example, by driving the member 3 tightly into said slots. If desired, the member 3 may have a concave surface or seat 11 to support the reinforcing bar. At opposite sides of the space occupied by the bar are arms 4 adapted to be bent to overlie the bar and thus secure the latter in place. As shown in Figs. 6 and 8, the arms 1" may be bent to lie in planes extending at right angles to the plane of the remainder of the device 3. Such bending may be done before Or after the members 3 are associated with the longitudinal member and the gages 2, and before the complete device leaves the factory.

It will be evident that the walls of the notch 10 restrain the sides or parts of the gage 2 from separation, and thus prevent the bar from being inadvertently embedded in the concrete in a plane lower than that intended by the architect.

Figs. 9 and 10 show another alternative construction wherein the longitudinal member 1 is provided with openings 12 at opposite sides of the gage 2 to receive the lower portions of the legs 13 of a staple like'member 3 The member 3 embraces the reinforcing bar and thus, like the members 3 and 3, serves not only to restrain the gage from unfolding, but also to lock the bar in place. The member 3 is associated with the member 1 after the reinforcing barhas been laid in place and may be secured to the longitudinal member 1 in any desired manner. Herein I have shown the inner sides of the legs 13 as having shoulders 14 to underlie the adjacent end walls of the openings 12.

In Figs. 11 to 15, inclusive, the longitudinal member is shown as formed of a plurality of wires united by twisting so as to form a continuous member 1 of the desired length. At intervals said wires are bent to form legs or gages 2. Herein I have shown two wires twisted together, each wire being bent to form a gage or leg. As indicated in Figs. 12 and 15, the legs 2 diverge downwardly so that the spacing and securing device shall be supported with sufficient stability upon the formwork A.

The gages 2 are herein shown as formed at intervals corresponding to the desired spacing of the reinforcing bars B.

, Preferably the bar-securing means is of such form that it may be attached to the longitudinal member 1 at the factory and thus obviate trouble and expense in the laying of the reinforcing bars. In Figs. 11 and 12 I have shown,'by way of example, a separate piece of wire coiled about the longitudinal member 1 as at 15, the middle portion 16 of the wire extending between the legs 2.- The free ends of the wire constitute bar-engaging arms '17. After the bar has been put in place, these arms may be bent as shown in Figs. 11 and 12 to embrace the bar and hold it securely in place. The special wire forming the bar-engaging means is coiled about the longitudinal member 1 at opposite sides of the legs 2 and is thereby held from displacement longitudinally of the longitudinal no member. The portion 16 serves to restrain the legs 2 from unfoldingand also prevents the arms 17 from swinging upon the axis of the member 1.

If desired, the bar-engaging means may consist of a piece of wire inserted through the coils of the longitudinal member 1 at opposite sides of the legs 2 as shown at 18 in Fig. 13, the middle portion 19 of the wire extending between the gages.

In Figs. 14 and 15 the bar-engaging means is shown to consist of asingle piece of wire, the middle portion of'which is coiled about the legs 2 below the longitudinal member 1 and the end portions of the wire extending upwardly into position to be bent into engagement with a bar B.

It will be seen that in all of the forms herein disclosed of the invention, the gage is restrained from unfolding and the reinforcplication Serial No.

ing bar is securely locked in place and properl placed from the formwork and from ad acent bars.

. In certain of the following claims I have considered the longitudinal member 1 or 1 as spacing means projecting transversely from the reinforcing bar on opposite sides of the bar. By means of the present invention, the bar is prevented from descending between the two parts of which the gage is formed and thus separating such spacing means.

It will be evident that some features of this invention may be employed independently of others, and that the longitudinal member 1 or 1 need not be a continuous member.

This application is a continuation of ap- 658,683, filed November 6, 1911. I

I claim as my invention:

1. Reinforced-concrete construction comprising a plurality of reinforcing bars, a member extending transversely of said bars, said member having a plurality of bends therein, each bend being adapted to space gagement with the bar to secure the one of said bars from a formwork, a sheet-. 'metal member for each bend, said member being shaped to embrace a portion of the bend, said bend being slotted to receive a portion of said sheet metal member, said member lying "at'opposite sides of the unslotted portion of said bend to restrain said bend from unfolding, the first mentioned member having openings at opposite sides of the bend, and the sheet-metal member hav ing two arms extending through the openings and being adapted to be bent into en-. bar in place.

2. Reinforced-concrete construction comprising a plurality of reinforcing bars, a member extending transversely of said bars, said member having a plurality of bends therein, each bend being adapted to space one of said bars from a formwork, a sheetmetal member for each bend, said member bein sha ed to embrace a portion of the ben sai bend being slotted to receive a portion of said sheet-metal member, said sheet-metal member lying at opposite sides of the unslottedposition of said .bend to restrain said bend from unfolding, said sheetmetal member having two arms adapted to be bent into enga ement with the bar to secure the bar in p ace.

3. Reinforced-concrete construction comprising a plurality of horizontal reinforcing bars, a member extending transversely of said bars, said member having a plurality of downwardly-extending bends therein, each bend underlying andsupporting one of said reinforcing bars and being adapted my hand.

sheet-meal member lying at opposite sides.

of the unslotted portion of said bend to re: strain said bend from unfolding, and means for securing the reinforcing bar in place.

4. A combined tie and gage member for reinforced-concrete construction, consisting of a longitudinal member bent to form a leg or gage adapted to support a reinforcing bar at the upper end of the gage, and a tie member. having its middle portion extending between the sides of the gage and securely attached to said sides to prevent spreading thereof, the ends of-said tie member being free and extending upwardly and being adapted to be bent about a reinforcing bar to prevent displacement of the latter.

5. Reinforced-concrete construction comprising a plurality of horizontal reinforcing bars, and a tie and gage member extending transversely of said bars, said member having a plurality of downwardly-extending bends therein, each bend underlying and supporting one of said reinforcing bars, and being adapted to space said bars from a formwork, and a single tie member for each of said bends, said tie member being securely attached to opposite sides of said bend and extending transversely across the bend between such attaching points whereby to brace the bend and prevent the sides thereof from spreadingapart, the ends of sai tie member being free and being adapted to be bent around the reinforcing bar to secure the bar in proper position above said bend.

6. In reinforced-concrete construction, a reinforcing bar, a member extending transversely of the bar, said member being bent to provide a gage or supporting leg below the bar, and a member formed separate from the transverse member and rigidly secured at points between its ends to opposite sides of'the bend to prevent spreading, the ends of the second mentioned member being free and constituting bar-embracing arms.

7. Reinforced-concrete construction comprising a reinforcing bar, a member extending transversely of the bar, said member having a downwardly-extending fold forming a leg or gage underlying and supporting the bar and adapted to space the bar from a formwork, and a combination gage-restraining and bar-securing device secured to said member at opposite sides of the gage and restraining said gage from unfolding, said device embracing the bar.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set WILLIAM B. HOUGH. 

